💡 Get Philly smart 💡
with BP’s free daily newsletter

Read the news of the day in less than 10 minutes — not that we’re counting.

Billy Penn is celebrating its 10th Anniversary this year! 

We’re having a party to celebrate on Wednesday, Oct. 23, at WHYY’s studio near Independence Mall. It’s a chance to eat and drink, meet the BP news team, and walk down memory lane, courtesy of a special anniversary edition of Billy Penn’s “Billies” Awards. Sign up here to attend. 

Whether you signed up for our email newsletter a decade ago or only recently found us on social media or through our colleagues at WHYY, our goal has remained consistent over the years — to provide an independent news voice for and of Philadelphia, to help you meet your neighbors and navigate the city we all love, and maybe brighten your day.

What has that meant over time? Here are a few — but hardly all — of the articles that resonated with BP readers over the years.

‘Life through the eyes of the oppressed’: How LGBT faithful worship in Philadelphia

By Anna Orso
October 26, 2014
Billy Penn was little more than a month old when reporter Anna Orso wrote about “welcoming churches” that invite in LGBT worshipers, including the Who-so-ever Metropolitan Community Church in University City and the First Unitarian Church in Center City. (Anna is now a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter.)

Everything you don’t pay sales tax on in Pennsylvania, from books to utilities

By Anna Orso and Asha Prihar 
Did someone say “news you can use”? Thanks to Pennysylvanians’ thriftiness and Google Search, this perennial favorite is perhaps Billy Penn’s most-read article ever. Published first in 2015 and updated last year, it lists the many non-taxable items in the state and points out some notable contradictions, such as that pet cremation services are non-taxable, but pet caskets are taxed. Sunburn treatments are also tax-free while preventative sunblock isn’t. 

What the Amtrak 188 crash was like for a survivor

By Beth Davidz
May 15, 2015
Beth was Billy Penn’s product director when she wrote about experiencing the crash that killed eight people, escaping the derailed train, and running the gauntlet of national media interviews afterward. (Beth is a freelance media strategist in New York.)

Eating the PA Farm Show with ex-Philly Mayor Street and his senator son

By Danya Henninger
January 12, 2017
Danya, who later became Billy Penn’s editor and director, wandered the Farm Show with former Mayor Street and state Sen. Sharif Street as they sought to connect with folks from rural counties and enjoy local specialties: milkshakes with Pa.-produced ingredients, giant fried mozzarella cubes, batter-fried veggies, and potato donuts. (They skipped an iffy-looking “chicken cheesesteak.”) Street also shared one of his favorite photos, of a sleeping girl curled up with a heifer at a previous farm show. (Danya is now editorial director at Technical.ly)

Why the city is giving out blue light bulbs to deter drug use

By Michaela Winberg
January 8, 2018
As the city struggled to respond to the opioid epidemic in 2018, one thing it did was … hand out blue light bulbs to residents. Blue light supposedly makes it harder to find a vein while injecting intravenous drugs, and can deter users from shooting up on blue-lit doorsteps (and Starbucks bathrooms). But as Michaela reported for BP and NPR’s Morning Edition, experts say it probably doesn’t work and can be harmful to people in addiction. (Michaela is now a podcast producer at WHYY.)

Mayor Kenney’s face is now a feelings chart containing 30 distinct emotions

By Max Marin
March 2, 2019
The title says it all. “In addition to some of the more familiar faces (‘lonely,’ ‘angry,’ ‘sad’) it contains cropped visages of Kenney being ‘mischievous’ and ‘lovestruck.’ These are mayors you don’t see every day — but we are told they’re very real.” (Max is now a Philadelphia Inquirer reporter.)

The true story behind Philly’s famous ‘Boner 4ever’ graffiti

By Layla A. Jones 
February 19, 2020
BP pulled back some of the curtain of mystery around Boner and Forever, who it turns out are graffiti artists who teamed up to tag the Divine Lorraine and many other buildings and walls. Most famously, they painted “Boner 4ever” in huge letters on two sides of the historic Beury Building on North Broad Street. Fans were worried that a planned hotel project would erase the graffiti, but as of August 2024 the redevelopment was still stalled. (Layla was later a reporter at the Inquirer and now has a Columbia Journalism School fellowship.)

Remains of children killed in MOVE bombing sat in a box at Penn Museum for decades

Maya Kassutto 
April 21, 2021
Maya’s BP article was one of the first to reveal the mishandling of a set of remains at UPenn’s archeology museum that were thought to be two children killed in the 1985 MOVE bombing. The museum apologized and an investigation later concluded that two anthropologists there demonstrated “extremely poor judgment and a gross insensitivity” by holding the remains for decades. (Maya is a freelance writer and teacher.)

Can a food co-op thrive in Kensington?

By Lizzy McLellan Ravitch 
April 25, 2022
Lizzy dove into the economics of the Kensington Community Food Co-op, a member-owned grocery story. KCFC struggled to open in an economically deprived neighborhood, thrived during the pandemic, and then hit a rough patch financially. A subsequent bridge loan helped keep it open, but the store finally closed in February 2024. (Lizzy is now a business editor at the Inquirer.)

‘Down the shore’ explained: A history of Philly’s favorite summer travel phrase

By Asha Prihar
May 27, 2022
Only in the Philly area do people go “down the shore” in July, not “down to the shore,” or to the beach or sea or ocean. It’s unclear why, but readers and experts thought it had to do with “down” meaning either “south” or toward a lower-elevation, sea-level location. Asha noted that the phrase, which dates to at least the early 1950s, means going to the Jersey Shore generally, not specifically to the beach. (Asha is the newsletter editor at City Cast Philly.)

What happened at Bankroll? Inside the spectacular collapse of Philly’s luxury sports bar

By Ali Mohsen
June 29, 2023
Stephen Starr dropping out, a premature opening, an app that never materialized, high turnover, and a vacant dining room: Ali spoke to disgusted former employees about the bungled, multi-million dollar rollout of luxury sports bar Bankroll, and the sudden announcement that they were losing their jobs.

How the once-great SS United States ended up docked across from Ikea for 27 years

By Jordan Levy
September 15, 2023
The S.S. United States, the historic, rusting ocean liner docked across from Ikea in South Philly, will soon make its final voyage. Last year Jordan reviewed the ship’s dramatic early history — in 1952, it broke the record for the quickest naval trip from the U.S. to the U.K. — and its later decline. It’s slated to be sunk off the coast of Florida and become the world’s largest artificial reef. (Jordan is now communications director for City Councilmember Nicolas O’Rourke.)

After city clears out Kensington encampment, reactions are deeply split

By Meir Rinde
May 8, 2024
After police dismantled a tent encampment on Kensington Avenue under the El and sanitation workers power-washed the street, some residents applauded the action as long overdue. But others said this latest of many efforts to shut down the neighborhood’s decades-old open drug market is bound to fail, and the city needs to launch a major anti-poverty effort in Kensington.